A membranophone is any

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of

musical instrument classification In organology, the study of musical instruments, many methods of classifying instruments exist. Most methods are specific to a particular cultural group and were developed to serve that culture's musical needs. Culture-based classification method ...

. According to

Sachs Sachs is a German surname, meaning "man from Saxony". Sachs is a common surname among Ashkenazi Jews from Saxony, in the United States sometimes adopted in the variant Zaks, supposedly in reference to the Hebrew phrase ''Zera Kodesh Shemo'' (ZaKS), ...

, material, shape, skin(s), skin fastening, playing positions, and manner of playing.

Hornbostel-Sachs

The Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of

divides membranophones in a numeric taxonomy based on how the sound is produced: *21: by hitting the drumskin with a hand or object (most common form, including the

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...

and

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

) *22: by pulling a knotted string attached to the drumskin (common in Indian drums, and can be considered an example of a

chordophone String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

as well) *23: by rubbing the drumskin with a hand or object (common in Irish traditional music, an example is the bodhran) *24: by modifying sounds through a vibrating membrane (unusual form, including the

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

)

Length and breadth

Membranophones can also be divided into small divisions based on length and breadth of sound production: *Tubular drums include a wide range of drum shapes, like ''waisted'', ''long'', ''footed'', ''cylindrical'', ''conical'' and ''barrel'' * Mirlitons,

Kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

s and Swazzles vibrate in sympathy with sounds travelling across a membrane. These are the only membranophones that are not truly drums.

SIL International SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...

maintains a classification system based largely on shape: *

Cylindrical drum Cylindrical drums are a category of drum instruments that include a wide range of implementations, including the bass drum and the Iranian ''dohol''. Cylindrical drums are generally two-headed and straight-sided, and sometimes use a buzzing, pe ...

s are straight-sided, and generally two-headed. A buzzing, percussive string is sometimes used. Examples include the

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

and the Iranian ''dohol''. *

Conical drum Conical drums are a class of membranophone, or drum, that is characterized by sloping sides. They are usually one-headed. An example is the timbal The timbau or Brazilian timbal is a membranophone instrument derived from the caxambu drum, usu ...

s are sloped on the sides, and are usually one-headed. Examples include the Indian ''

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

'' and the Venezuelan ''chimbangueles''. * Barrel drums are normally one-headed, and may be open at the bottom. They bulge in the middle. Examples include the ''Dhak'' from eastern parts of India, ''bendre'', made by the Mossi of Burkina Faso out of a large

calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

, and the ''trong chau'' of Vietnam. *

Hourglass drum Hourglass drums are a sub-category of membranophone, or drum, characterized by an hourglass shape. They are also known as ''waisted drums''. Drumheads are attached by laces, which may be squeezed during a performance to alter the pitch. The cate ...

s (or ''waisted drums'') are

hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

-shaped and generally two-headed. The drumheads are laced onto the body, and the laces may be squeezed during performance to alter the drum's pitch. Examples include folk drums in India (like the ''

damaru A damaru ( sa, डमरु, ; Tibetan ཌ་མ་རུ་ or རྔ་ཆུང) is a small two-headed drum, used in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. In Hinduism, the damaru is known as the instrument of the deity Shiva, associated with Tant ...

'') and much of Africa, as well as some

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

s. *

Goblet drum The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...

s (or ''chalice drums'') are one-headed and

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...

shaped, and are usually open at the bottom. Examples include the Egyptian

darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...

, West-African ''

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

'', and the Arab ''darabukka''. *

Footed drum A footed drum is a class of membranophone, of Native American and Polynesian origin, characterized by an open area at the bottom of the instrument, held by feet. This open area adds resonance to the drum's sound. It is made out of hollow wood and/ ...

s are single-headed and are held above the ground by feet. The space between the drum and the ground provides extra resonance. Examples include a range of East African and Polynesian drums. *

Long drum Long drums are a loose category of tubular membranophones, characterized by their extreme length. They are most common in Africa, Thailand, and in Native American traditions. Long drums can be made out of entire tree trunk In botany, the trunk ...

s are a diverse category, characterized by extreme length. Examples include the single-headed hollow tree trunk drums of Africa and the ornately carved and dyed ''gufalo'' of the Nuna in Burkina Faso. *

Kettle drum Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

s (or ''pot drums'' or ''vessel drums'') are frequently played in pairs, and have a vessel or pot body, are one-headed and usually tuned to a specific note. Examples include the

and the Indian tabla. *

Frame drum A frame drum is a drum that has a drumhead width greater than its depth. It is one of the most ancient musical instruments, and perhaps the first drum to be invented. It has a single drumhead that is usually made of rawhide, but man-made mat ...

s are composed of one or more membranes stretched across a frame. Examples include the

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

and bodhran. *

Friction drum A friction drum is a musical instrument found in various forms in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. In Europe it emerged in the 16th century and was associated with specific religious and ceremonial occasions. Construction A friction d ...

s produce sound through

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

, such as by rubbing a hand or object against the drumskin. Examples include the Brazilian '' cuica'' and the Spanish ''zambomba''. * Mirlitons,

s and Swazzles produce sound by blowing air across a membrane.

Traditional classifications

The traditional classification of Indian instruments include two categories of percussion. *''Ghan'': Percussion without membranes, such as chimes, bells and gongs *''Avanaddh'': Percussion with membranes, such as drums with skin heads

Other categories

The ''predrum'' category consists of simple drum-like percussion instruments. These include the ''ground drum'', which, in its most common §—Form, consists of an animal skin stretched over a hole in the ground, and the ''pot drum'', made from a simple pot. '' Water drums'' are also sometimes treated as a distinct category of membranophone. Common in

Native American music Indigenous music of North America, which includes American Indian music or Native American music, is the music that is used, created or performed by Indigenous peoples of North America, including Native Americans in the United States and Abori ...

and the

music of Africa Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

, water drums are characterized by a unique sound caused by filling the drum with some amount of water. The ''

'' is an important category of West African membranophone, characterized by the use of varying tones to "talk". Talking drums are used to communicate across distances.

Military drums Military drums or war drums are all kinds of drums and membranophones that have been used for martial music, including military communications, as well as drill, honors music and military ceremonies. History Among ancient war drums that can ...

or ''war drums'' are drums in various forms that have been used in the military.

References

{{Authority control Musical instruments by material Percussion instruments by means of sound production Musical instruments

Hornbostel-Sachs

Length and breadth

Traditional classifications

Other categories

See also

References